Book 1: Assault on Metropolis
by FusionRifle
Summary: Ratchet and Clank have defeated Dr. Nefarious, but is the threat put upon the Solana Galaxy now over? Is Metropolis safe once again?


**Ratchet & Clank Novels**

**Book 1: Assault on Metropolis**

_Setting: After the battle with Dr. Nefarious_

After the explosion of the Bioblitterator, Dr. Nefarious, the evil robotic scientist, and Lawrence find themselves stranded on a meteorite in the middle of space…

"What do you mean we can't teleport to a planet?" says Dr. Nefarious.

"We are well out of range sir" answers Lawrence the robotic butler holding a guitar, "perhaps if you had bothered to specify a destination"

"When will we be in range?"

"Oh, I'm sure something will come up in say 5 or 10…… thousand years"

"AAAHHHH…..I don't believe this!" exclaims Nefarious. He slumps and sits down on the floor, "Now what?"

"I don't suppose you can play drums?"

"LAAAAAAAAAAAWWREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE!"

_1 Month Later_

Ratchet and Clank sat outside of the Galactic President's office on Planet Marcadia. The President was having a meeting with Mr. Fizzwidget, founder of the Megacorp Company in the Bogon Galaxy.

"What do you think their doing in there" asks Ratchet.

"I'm not quiet sure, however I think it has something to do with linking this galaxy to Bogon galaxy, or something" replies Clank.

The door opened and a black fluffy head pokes around it, Ratchet quickly stands up "Mr President, sir"

"Now I just need you two to just come in here just for one minute"

Ratchet and Clank made their way into the office where the President and Mr. Fizzwidget were standing.

"Its good to see you boys" said Fizzwidget.

"Its good to see you too, sir" replied Ratchet.

"Me and the President here have decided to link this galaxy to the Bogon galaxy via trading. Goods from all the Planets in the Bogon galaxy will be brought to Planet Endako; from there large transport vessels will ship the goods to this galaxy via our new hyperspace route"

"Once the ships have arrived on planet Kerwan, the goods will be taken all over the galaxy" added the President "And Vice Versa"

"That is a very good and useful idea Mr. Fizzwidget" commented Clank.

"Oh yeah Ratchet, Sasha just called to tell you two to head back the _Starship Phoenix_, she has a mission for you"

"We're on our way" said Ratchet.

Ratchet and Clank headed back outside to their ship.

"I'm off as well, I've got work to do" said Fizzwidget.

"OK, see you again" said the President as Fizzwidget returned to his personal ship, the_ Megacorp Hawk_.

The _Megacorp Hawk_ gently lifted off the landing platform and headed for the atmosphere. After leaving the atmosphere of Planet Marcadia the _Megacorp Hawk_ engaged its hyperdrive engines and jumped into Hyperspace.

OOO

"Lawrence?"

"Yes Sir"

"How long have we been on this floating dump?"

"1 Month exactly, sir"

"Oh, it seems like 1 year to me. What's that? Where's your stupid guitar?" Dr. Nefarious asked gesturing at a large device that Lawrence was holding instead of his guitar.

"This? Oh, I have taken apart the guitar-"

"Good riddance!"

"-and combined it with the teleporter, so now the range is wider and we can also teleport inside ships travelling past in hyperspace"

"Wow, how come you didn't do that a month ago!"

"Oh, I was too busy practicing before and now I'm rather bored"

"LAWRENCE! You idiot"

"If you say so sir"

"How does it work?"

"Well, like this, I think" said Lawrence flipping a switch on the side. A small holographic map appeared before them.

"Lawrence, what have you done now?"

"This is a map of our surrounding area-"

"All I see I space"

"-but there still doesn't seem to be any planets in range"

"AAAHHHH, great!"

"Oh, what's this? There seems to be a ship heading this way"

OOO

"Ratchet, I've got a mission for you" said Sasha, the commander of the _Starship Phoenix_.

"Yes, that's why we've come"

"Well, we have located a cruiser in orbit of Planet Rilgar, we have no idea who it belongs to or why its there. That's what we need you and Clank to find out"

"OK Sasha, come on Clank, lets check it out"

OOO

"Here it comes sir, get ready, teleporting in three, two, one…."

Next thing they knew they were in side a big ship. "It seems to have worked, sir"

"Yes, yes ok, just get into this storage room out of sight".

OOO

Ratchets ship approached the Planet Rilgar, it was dark blue in colour and from Ratchets knowledge from before, Planet Rilgar was 85 water. Therefore, there was not much land and not many cities. The Capital of Rilgar was Blackwater City.

"There's that ship Sasha told us about Clank, it's straight ahead"

"I see it too, what exactly are we going to do Ratchet, board it?"

"Oh, well, I hadn't thought about that!"

There was a crackling on the commlink and a voice came through.

"We have you in our view, please identify yourself" said the voice.

"Um, this is the, um,_ Starship Ratchet_,and we are requesting to land on your ship, um, we need to talk to your commander"

There was a long deadly silence. After a minute the voice sounded again.

"_Starship Ratchet_, you have clearance to land. Please land in hanger bay 32"

"Wow" said Ratchet, "That was easy! Well, a little bit too easy"

"Yes" added Clank, "We should be cautious"

Ratchets ship headed towards hanger bay 32.

OOO

Nefarious and Lawrence were hiding in a storage room out of sight on the _Megacorp Hawk_.

"How long are we going to be in here Lawrence? It's too cramped!"

"I would say approximately 20 minutes more, sir"

"Good"

"Sorry to ask, sir, but when this ship lands on a planet, what are we going to do?"

"What? I thought you already thought of that!"

"Oh no sir, I was only simply getting us of that rock"

"I've got an idea, why don't you think of that plan now"

"But sir!"

"You have 20 minutes"

OOO

The hanger of the cruiser was quite small but there was defiantly a welcoming party! There were three people coming towards them holding 'N6O' guns.

"Welcome to the _Goldiat_" said the man in the middle. "Our boss is busy at the moment, so can you follow me to your quarters"

"Quarters?" whispered Ratchet.

"I know" said Clank "This does seem a bit fishy, however I think we should play along until we find out more"

Ratchet and Clank were led down a long corridor until they reached a small room. It was small, but it looked comfortable.

"Just stay here and relax and my boss will be with you in a minute" said the man.

OOO

"What are we going to do, master?" said the man kneeling down in frot of a dark figure on the bridge of the ship, Planet Rilgar was just visible, glowing through the window.

"Do you have any information on them Commander?" said the figure in a metallic tone.

"According to their starship's computer the furry one is called Ratchet and the robot is called Clank, the are part of the Q-Force run by Captain Qwark, master"

"Ah, the famous Ratchet and Clank, remind me about their pathetic deeds to become famous"

"Well, they saved this galaxy from Supreme Executive Chairman Drek-"

"Ah yes, Drek, that was a terrible loss, carry on"

"-and they saved the Bogon galaxy from the Protopets and freed Abercrombie Fizzwidget from Captain Qwark-"

"Oh yes, I heard that Qwark went crazy, but now he's back to normal and formed the Q-Force, and?"

"-and they defeated Dr. Nefarious and destroyed the Bioblitterator and saved all organic life forms of this galaxy"

"Yes, Ratchet defeating Nefarious saved me and all other organics, and in doing that the Lombax has proved himself worthy of my will. And in my will, he will have no choice but to obey my every command thanks to my new deadlock collars."

"Well done, my master"

"Now, go and tell Ratchet and Clank to 'join' me at the meeting room on deck 7, and have two deadlock collars ready for me to pick up from the lab on deck 3. Once I have Ratchet and Clank, commence the invasion of Blackwater City"

"As you wish Master Vox"

"You may leave, Commander"

"Yes master" the Commander said as he bowed and headed out of the bridge. The dark figure, named Vox, turned and stared down at the planet below.

OOO

"I heard that Gleeman Vox is trying to make a comeback. It hasn't been very popular, but he said that capturing the Lombax and the Robot will make it the most popular thing ever!" said a man, who was outside Ratchet and Clank's quarters.

"How is he going to capture them?" asked the second man.

"Well I'd say he is already half way there!"

"How'd you mean?"

"Well think about it, Ratchet and Clank are already locked in this room so…."

"Oh I get it, um, I think"

"Clank, did you hear that!" whispered Ratchet, "Those people were stupid enough to talk about Vox's plans right next to our quarters, and I guess that Gleeman Vox is in charge of this cruiser, but why is it orbiting around Planet Rilgar I wonder?"

"I do not know" said Clank, "However I think we should find out what Vox is up to and try and escape this ship"

"Good idea, let's go"

"Wait Ratchet, how are we going to escape?"

"Good point, I never thought of that. See if you can use that Computer other there to help us"

Clank walked across the room to a small computer and started to type.

"Umm" said Clank, "no that wont work, well, lets see, ah ha! I have downloaded a passcard which will allow us to open the door to hanger bay 32"

"Great work Clank, now let's go"

OOO

The _Megacorp Hawk _touched down smoothly on a large landing pad outside Fizzwidget's Office in Megapolis on Planet Endako. After a few minutes the ship was empty and Dr. Nefarious and Lawrence crept out of the storage room.

"Lawrence, all this sneaking around is cramping my style!"

"If you say so sir"

They walked past a wardrobe room and decided to put on disguises.

"Lawrence, there is only one costume here and it's a tutu!"

"Well sir, nobody will notice me with my rock star outfit on, so you'll just have to wear that tutu"

"Oh all right, but you will pay when we get back"

"Very well sir"

Nefarious took out the costume and put it on.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH, I don't believe this! I'm meant to be evil, not a sissy!"

"Do hurry up sir, we really must be going"

They walked down the boarding ramp and on to the landing pad.

"I think we should find our way to a dock, sir, and then find transport back to the Solana Galaxy" said Lawrence.

OOO

"This is the door to Hanger Bay 32" said Clank.

"Well its time to see if this passcard really works"

Ratchet inserted the passcard into the slot next the door.

The door opened and there in front of them was their starfighter.

"FREEZE!"

Ratchet and Clank spun around to see three guards standing in the corridor, each with a 'Blitz Gun'.

"Don't move"

OOO

"What do you mean they're not ready!" screamed Gleeman Vox.

"We….we….haven't tested them yet, they…. explode without warning" answered a shaking scientist. Vox was in the Lab on deck 3. He had come to pick up the deadlock collars.

"What do you mean by 'without warning'?"

"Well…..if the collar was, say, knocked hard by something it could explode. That's……that's why we need to test them first"

"And how long would that take?"

"Um…..about, thr…..thr….three to four, um, hours"

"WHAT!" shouted Vox. "Grrr, I'll have to leave them here while a capture Blackwater City"

"Yes sir"

Vox pulled the scientist up by the shirt, "You better have these collars ready by the time I come back. Or else" he said in a gritty tone. He let go of the scientist and he fell to the floor. Vox stormed out of the lab.

"As you wish sir" the scientist called after him.

OOO

"There we are" said Lawrence, "That freighter is going to depart to the Solana galaxy in about half an hour, sir"

"Finally"

"There appears to be know one on board sir"

"Even better, we can steal it!"

"I don't think so sir…"

"Well I do, come on"

"Oh, alright then sir"

Nefarious and Lawrence ran across the landing pad the freighter and up the boarding ramp. Lawrence was right, there was nobody on board. Lawrence sat in the Pilot's seat and Nefarious in the Co-pilot's.

"Oh, dear sir"

"What is it now!"

"The controls to the ship are voice locked, sir"

"What does that mean!"

"It means sir, only a the captain's voice can activate the controls"

"Oh great! Hang on, is there any recordings by the captain?"

"Yes sir, there seems to be a log recording on the console"

"Play it then"

"May I ask why sir?"

"Because, if you play the log, I can record it then play it back to unlock the controls"

"Great idea sir"

Lawrence pressed a button marked 'Log 27'. Then a voice came out of the speakers.

"Captain's Log Number 27. I have reached Planet Endako safely and will be departing back to the Solana galaxy in about 5 hours. End log"

"Did you get that sir?" said Lawrence.

"Of course I did you fool!"

"Ok then sir, now play back the recording into the controls console"

"Captain's Log Number 27" said Nefarious with the captain voice, "I have reached Planet Endako safely and will be departing back to the Solana galaxy in about 5 hours. End log"

The controls console flickered on and the engines started. A voice came through on the commlink.

"Freighter 109 this is control, why are your engines started, the cargo isn't loaded on yet. Freighter 109 do you copy?"

"Yes we copy!" laughed Nefarious, "Goodbye!"

The freighter began to lift of the landing pad.

"Freighter 109 you are not permitted to leave!"

"Bye-Bye"

"Stop that ship!" the man yelled to someone.

The Turbolaser cannons started firing at the ship, some shots narrowly missing the engines. But once the freighter left the atmosphere of Planet Endako the Turbolaser cannons stopped firing.

"Lawrence! The radar shows five fighters coming up behind us!"

"Don't worry sir" Lawrence said as he pulled down a lever, the engines roared and the freighter jumped into Hyperspace leaving the puzzled fighters behind.

OOO

"So, I heard you two were trying to escape?" Ratchet and Clank were standing in front of Gleeman Vox on the bridge of the _Goldiat_. The guards with the Blitz Guns were behind them. "You have disappointed me now, and just for that you'll get to stay here locked up, instead of helping me invade Blackwater City"

"What do you mean, helping you!" exclaimed Ratchet.

"Oh no, that will be your surprise for when I come back from Rilgar, you will then learn to obey my every command"

"I'll never join you"

"You are mistaken, because, you WILL obey"

"Do not listen to him Ratchet" said Clank, "He is lying to you to try and get you on their side. Clam down Ratchet!"

"Sorry, you're right Clank"

"Me! Lying!" shouted Vox, "I don't think so. Guards, take them away"

OOO

"Ratchet, Clank, is that you?"

"Yes Sasha"

"Are you still on that starcruiser?"

"Yeah"

Ratchet and Clank were talking to Sasha on the _Starship Phoenix_ using the communications screen that is kept inside of Clank.

"Whets been happening?" asked Sasha, "Did you find out what the ship is doing in orbit?"

"Well here's the story" answered Ratchet, "We were greeted when we arrived by three people, they said that there boss was busy and told us to wait for him in this room"

"Then" continued Clank, "Me and Ratchet overheard two people talking about the captain of this ship, called Gleeman Vox, planning to capture us and make us his slaves"

"Mmm, sounds bad" said Sasha.

"We tried to escape" continued Ratchet, "But we got caught before we could reach the hanger. We were taken to the bridge and Vox told us that he is planning to take over Blackwater City!"

"That's it!" exclaimed Sasha, "Taking over Blackwater City! That's the reason why he's at Planet Rilgar! But, why does he want to do that?"

"We don't know, now were locked up in this cell"

"Ok, thanks Ratchet, and you to Clank for bringing us this information, we'll bring the _Phoenix _to Rilgar, save you and then we can stop Vox"

"Thanks Sasha, over and out"

"Now what?" asked Clank.

"Now, we wait, unless Vox changes his mind about us.

OOO

"Right team, it's time to get to work"

"Um, what work?" asked Skidd, who was once a pro hoverboarder and is now part of the Q-Force.

"The plan I just showed you!" shouted Qwark.

"Oh that"

"We need to proceed to Planet Rilgar to begin the attack" said Sasha.

"Ok then team" said Qwark, "Everyone to their seats"

The Q-Force took to their seats which were around the bridge of the _Phoenix_. Qwark's seat was in the middle and Sasha was the pilot she sat at the controls.

"Prepare to jump to Hyperspace" shouted Sasha.

OOO

"Are we there yet Lawrence?"

"Not quite sir"

"How long?"

"Actually we're just coming out of Hyperspace now, sir"

"Finally!"

The freighter dropped out of Hyperspace into the Solana Galaxy, near the Planet Koros.

"We'll land at the _Nefarious BFG_ and plan our attack on Metropolis, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

OOO

"Master Vox, your shuttle is ready"

"Very good Commander" said Vox, "Launch all fighters and tell them to wait in the atmosphere out of sight. Do not attack unless I give the word"

"Yes master"

Gleeman Vox switched of his commlink and headed from the bridge to hanger bay 24.

Forty starfighters poured out of the hangers and headed toward Planet Rilgar followed by Vox's private shuttle. All of the starfighters came to a halt just inside the atmosphere of the planet behind the clouds while Vox's shuttle continued down towards Blackwater City.

OOO

"There, straight ahead!" shouted Sasha.

The _Starship Phoenix_ had just dropped out of Hyperspace and had the _Goldiat_ and Planet Rilgar in view.

"Al, take a starfighter and get to the cruiser and rescue Ratchet and Clank, according to our last transmission from Ratchet, Hanger bay 32 is empty so make sure you land there. Hanger bay 32, got that?"

"100" answered Al who was a genius scientist. He used to work in Al's RoboShack on Metropolis.

Al hurried to the hanger and jumped into a spare starfighter. The ship lifted up wile the floor opened up revealing the blackness of space. The ship sank down through the hole and headed towards the _Goldiat. _

OOO

Ratchet heard someone typing on the console outside his cell door.

"What's that?" he asked Clank.

"I believe it is someone unlocking the door"

"Oh great, what does Vox want now?"

"I do not know"

The door slowly slid open

"I told you" said Ratchet. "That I don't want-"

"Excuse me?" said a voice.

"-AL!"

"Come on" said Al, "There's no time to celebrate we need to get out of here"

"Oh yes, of course, um, lets go then"

Ratchet, Clank and Al ran down the corridor to Hanger bay 32.

"Where is everybody?" asked Ratchet they were getting into there ships.

"Didn't you know?" said Al, "The attack on Blackwater City has already begun!"

"Oh"

Once they were all in, both ships backed out of Hanger bay 32, Al's ship headed back the _Phoenix_ and Ratchet and Clank headed towards Rilgar.

OOO

"So you see, it would be most beneficial if you let my search the streets and pick out civilians of my choice"

"This is preposterous! I will not stand for this!" said the Mayor of Blackwater City. Gleeman Vox was standing in front of him in his office.

"Unfortunately, you have no choice"

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's quite simple really, you refuse, you will pay"

"You can't do this!"

"Cant I? Oh well I suppose we should leave the planet"

"Really?"

"NO! You have a choice, Mayor, and I think you should choose quickly"

OOO

"LOOK!" shouted Sasha, "The Starfighters are moving from the clouds! They are beginning the attack!"

"Ok" said Qwark sitting behind Sasha, "Tell all pilots to proceed to there fighters and take out all enemy fighters in the atmosphere of Rilgar"

Sasha grabbed the commlink and shouted through it "All pilots proceed to your fighters and take out all enemy fighters in the atmosphere of Rilgar"

The Q-Force saw dozens of fighters pouring out of the _Phoenix _and heading into the atmosphere.

"Sir" Sasha addressed Qwark, "All fighters are away. Shall we proceed with our attack on the _Goldiat?"_

"Yes, on the double"

"Right, concentrate all fire power on that starcruiser"

"Um, Sasha dude, how do I fire?"

"You press that button there, Skidd" Sasha said pointing at a large button.

"Oh, Ok man"

"FIRE!" shouted Qwark.

Turbolasers erupted out of the _Phoenix_ and headed straight towards the _Goldiat_.

"IT'S NOT WORKING!" shouted Sasha over the racket, "ITS SHEIDS ARE TO HIGH!"

"WELL I'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE DUDES DOGDE THIS!" shouted Skidd he pressed his fire button. Skidd's well aimed turbolaser shot flew across space and collided with the cockpit of the _Goldiat_. The cockpit exploded and the rear engines faded away. The _Goldiat_ started to fall into Rilgar's atmosphere, being taken over by Rilgar's gravity, gravity always wins, especially if your engines don't work. The ship plummeted through the atmosphere; it sped up and caught fire. The ship plunged into one of Rilgar's oceans and causing a huge tsunami. Luckily the crash site was actually about 60 miles from any land and the tsunami died out before it could reach Blackwater City. Finally the _Goldiat_ sunk with a sizzling cry for help.

OOO

Gleeman Vox stared at the Mayor who was now in a cage in his own office! "What was that? Anything to do with you?"

"Wh..wh..what?"

"My cruiser, the _Goldiat_, has disappeared off the charts"

"I...I…I haven't done anything"

"I'm going back to it to see what's wrong" Vox headed out of the office but just before he opened the door he turned around, "Don't worry Mayor, I'll be back"

A few minutes after he had gone, the door bust open and two people ran in. It was a Lombax and a robot.

"Who are you?" asked the Mayor in surprise.

"I'm Ratchet" said the Lombax, "And this Clank"

"Do not be alarmed sir, we are here to help" said Clank.

"Oh, you're on our side huh" said the Mayor.

"We need to know if you've seen Gleeman Vox?" said Ratchet.

"Hello? That's why I'm in a cage"

"Um…Good point"

"The keycard to the cage is on my desk"

Ratchet picked up the keycard from the desk and used it to open the cage.

"So" said the Mayor, "Do you know anything about this starcruiser?"

"We have just received knowledge that our command ship destroyed its cockpit and it fell into the ocean" said Clank.

"Oh"

"C'mon Clank" said Ratchet, "We need to help the others deal with Vox's fighters"

"Ok" said Clank.

Ratchet and Clank were just walking off when-

"Um, I'll just stay here ok?"

The duo turned around, "Yeah stay here" said Ratchet.

"Don't worry sir, you will be safe here. We will soon take care of Vox's forces" reassured Clank.

OOO

"What have they done!" shouted Vox aboard his shuttle where the _Goldiat_ 'had' been, "Billions of bolts that cost!"

A small man came running into the cockpit, "Sir! All our fighters have been destroyed and we are the only ones left!"

"Well I suggest you prepare the jump to lightspeed, I think we need to lay low for a while, until, the time is right"

"Yes sir, right away sir" The man walked off.

"Ratchet has escaped me this time, but he shall not do so again" said Vox said as Hyperspace lines appeared outside the cockpit.

OOO

Ratchet's ship touched down in the _Phoenix _hanger and Ratchet and Clank made their way to the bridge. The door to the bridge opened and all of the Q-Force were standing there. Sasha ran up and hugged Ratchet.

"You made it back!" she said.

"Yeah," said Ratchet.

"Do you have a number of fighters lost Sasha" asked Clank.

"Luckily all the fighters returned safely."

"That is terrific news"

"After the starcruiser crashed it was then easier to push back Vox's fighters, and finally destroy them all"

"Oh yeah! That was great!" commented Ratchet, "I can't believe you actually took that starcruiser out!"

"It was all thanks to Skidd's amazing shot"

"Skidd!"

"I was a piece of cake man, I couldn't just stand here and watch wile they like, blow up the hoverboard track in Blackwater City dudes now can I" explained Skidd

"Ya, dat vos excellent Skidd!" said Helga, a robot fitness trainer from Qwark's fitness course in Metropolis.

"100 beneficial!" said Al.

The large Transmission screen started to fuzz and crackle until the picture finally cleared up to reveal the Mayor of Blackwater City standing there.

"Thank you for saving Blakwater City Qwark, Ratchet, Clank and you too Skidd" he said.

"Don't mention it!" said Qwark, "I'm just doing my job"

"It was no problem dude!" said Skidd

"The City is now safe we are now recovering from the attack"

"Ok" said Sasha "We're heading back to Planet Kerwan, over and out"

The picture faded away, but then a new figure appeared on the screen, "Hello, squishies!"

"Dr. Nefarious!" exclaimed the Q-Force.

"But…but how?" said Ratchet, "You were inside the Bioblitterator when it blew!"

"Yes, but maybe we weren't" said Lawrence over Nefarious' shoulder.

"Ah, but I just can't be bothered to tell you how we survived and how we got back to my BFG on Planet Kor-"

"SIR!"

"What is it now Lawrence?"

"You were about to reveal our location, sir"

"Oh, was I? Any way Qwark, remember Metropolis isn't safe with me around, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! That's all for now" There was a short pause, "All right Lawrence, you can turn it off now!" whispered Nefarious.

"May I Sir? What a treat" The transmission screen turned off.

"I can't believe he survived!" said Sasha.

"You know Nefarious, sneaky, crazy, and evil. I say that we locate Nefarious and then we can sort him out. And when I say 'we' I really mean 'you' Ratchet" said Qwark.

"Here we go again" sighed Ratchet.

"You sound like your going to enjoy this so I'm glad I picked you, so if you can just-"

"First, we need to find out where he is first Qwark"

"-ah, yes well, ah, aw nuts!"

"He said that he is at his BFG on a planet starting with the letters K, O and R" said Clank.

"Um" said Ratchet, "Korgor?"

"That is the name of the refinery on Planet Orxon"

"Oh"

"It's Koros" said Al.

"How'd you know that?"

"Well simple! I just bypass the matrix server, then recheck the feedback loop in the induction coil of the 66 hatrix adaptor with the reduction log, then reverse the transmission serial to the conduction sever and backtrack the pixel video transmission with the 757 matrix plug in"

"Ah, um Clank, you speak….. Nerd"

"Remember to check and add the holograph to the net dialog before at the 757 matrix plug in" said Clank.

"Yes, yes, I was about to say that!" said Al.

"That's enough! All this Nerd talk is hurting my head!" said Ratchet, "Clank, what does he mean?"

"He means that he traced the transmission back to its sender"

"Oh, that's all?"

"Yes" said Al, "But you could include a separate matrix adaptor into…"

"Ok! I get the point! Just find out where the message came from"

"Al said Koros Ratchet" said Qwark, "Stop lollygagging and pay attention!"

"Oh yeah, sorry Qwark, I got lost in the Nerd Conversation!"

"Right, let's get to work. Ratchet and Clank; proceed to Koros, everyone else plot a course to Metropolis, Ok?"

"Um, wait a sec-"

"Good! Let's go!"

Ratchet puts up his hand.

"Yes?" sighed Qwark "You there in the front"

"Oh, yeah, hi, I was just wondering" said Ratchet, "What are the rest of you going to be doing when I'm on Koros getting blasted?"

"Um… we'll be… motoring… the situation… closely… from here"

Qwark leaned towards Helga, "Actually we'll be in the buffet room on deck 5, its meatloaf day!" He leaned back, "But we'll be routing for you every step of the way"

OOO

Ratchet's ship drifted towards planet Koros. Koros was a whitish grey world; the planets atmosphere is covered with thick miserable clouds and the surface was cold and snowy in some parts. The ship entered the atmosphere and crawled through the clouds. After exiting the thick clouds Dr. Nefarious' BFG could be seen raised above the sea, a small town nestled on the coast next to the BFG. Ratchet and Clank had been here before in search of the first Bioblitterator. Clank used the Big Gun, which was resting on top of the BFG to destroy the first Bioblitterator.

"I think we should land in that small town to avoid attracting too much attention" suggested Clank as the ground drew closer.

"Good idea" said Ratchet.

The ship flew into the town and touched down on the 1 of 4 landing pad.

"The other two pads seem to be empty" said Clank.

"Yeah, there doesn't seem to be anyone around either"

"That is rather, disturbing"

"C'mon. Let's check this place out before we head towards the BFG"

OOO

"Sorry to disturb you, sir" said Lawrence, "But you may want to know that a Q-Force ship has just landed in _Thasco"_

"WHAT? That's impossible!"

"If you say so sir, apparently their ship has been registered, so the air defence turrets were not activated"

"Their registered?"

"Yes sir, but I do not know how"

Nefarious sighs, "I guess it's time for plan G"

"Beg at the feet of Captain Qwark for him to just let you conquer planets?"

"NO, NO, NO, that's plan H"

"Were out of luck then"

"Plan G is to put the 'you know what' in the 'you know where' and wait for 'you know who' to do the second 'you know what', remember?"

"I thought that was plan G?"

"Lawrence! Just go and ready my shuttle"

"Very well sir"

OOO

The _Starship Phoenix _dropped out of hyperspace in the Kerwan System, above the planet Kerwan. Kerwan was a big planet. Its grey colour comes from the city Metropolis, which covers the whole planet. The _Phoenix_ descended through the atmosphere until the beautiful cityscape was in view. The ship approached a very large landing runway and touched down. There was no boarding ramp on the _Phoenix_ because it was such a big cruiser. So a small Airbus had to dock in the main hanger. Qwark led Sasha, Skidd, Al, Helga and Scrunch to the main hanger and they all boarded the Airbus. "You expect me, to sit in dare?" said Helga, "It vill be too much of a squash!"

"Just get in Helga, please, it's only for 30 seconds" said Qwark.

"Oh, since you put dit dat vay"

The Airbus sank a few centimetres as Helga stepped in, and she squeezed into a chair next to Al. "Oh my" said Al quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh nothing, Helga, heh heh"

The Airbus backed out of the hanger and weaved through the traffic towards the terminal building.

OOO

"It's like a ghost town!" said Ratchet as they walked around _Thasco. _

"There is absolutely no one around" said Clank.

Ratchet and Clank arrived at the edge of _Thasco_ where there was a long bridge stretching across the water to the BFG. Ratchet looked down to see the waves crashing against the pale white cliffside. "Well there it is" said Ratchet, "The_ Nefarious BFG" _

"It appears that we are too late" said Clank.

"Huh?" Ratchet looked up to see a shuttle leaving the base and heading towards the atmosphere. "Great. I bet you that Nefarious was on that shuttle"

"I would say you are right" said Clank, "However I think we should search the base for Dr. Nefarious, and if we cannot, check the log computer in the hanger and find out where that shuttle is heading"

"Good idea lets go"

OOO

Qwark, Sasha, Al, Helga and Skidd were now in the Airbus station outside the Spaceport.

"That will be 200 Bolts each for the tour of Metropolis" said the Booking Man.

"600 Bolts?" said Qwark.

"Yes, 200 Bolts times 3 is 600 Bolts. The monkey can go free"

"Ok, Ok, here's 600 Bolts" said Qwark handing the Bolts to the man.

"Thank you"

Al, Skidd and Helga went through the glass doors to where all the Airbuses were parked, Skrunch the monkey followed.

"Oh no, not another Airbus!" said Helga.

They all got on and the Airbus and it left the station.

"Now" Qwark said to the Booking Man, "How much is it to go to the Q-Force HQ?"

"I'm sorry, but only authorised personnel may go there"

"I AM authorised personnel!"

"Sure, and you are?"

Qwark rolled his eyes at Sasha and she shrugged. "I'm Captain Qwark!"

"Captain Qwark? Really?"

"Yes"

"Oh, of course you are!"

"So how much will it cost!"

"Well you can go for free, but that 'Cat' over there can go for 100 Bolts.

"CAT!" exclaimed Sasha, "WHY YOU LITTLE…"

"SASHA!" shouted Qwark.

"Sorry Sir"

The man handed Qwark two tickets. Qwark and Sasha walked through the glass doors towards another Airbus, Sahsa still muttering "Cat!" They got in and the Airbus lifted up and headed in the direction of the Q-Force HQ.

OOO

Ratchet and Clank had reached the hanger bay in the _Nefarious BFG_.

"Well we've searched the rest of the base for Nefarious but, there is no sign of him or that butler" said Ratchet.

"He must of have been in that departing shuttle then"

"Yeah, but what seems odd, is that the base is completely empty too. No security, no guards, no… nothing"

"That is a mystery, but we must now find out were Dr. Nefarious was heading in that shuttle"

"Look" said Ratchet pointing towards a computer on the hanger wall, "See if you can use that"

"Good idea Ratchet" Clank trotted over to the computer and started to type. "I'm afraid, this does not look good"

"What?"

"According to this departure log, the shuttle was heading for Metropolis"

"Oh no, does it say where?"

"The shuttle is heading towards an old ship yard on the dark side of Planet Kerwan"

"The dark side of the planet?"

"Yes" said Clank, "The Planet Kerwan does not spin on its axis because of the weight of Metropolis, so therefore the other side of the planet never faces the nearest star, which is called Metru, the only star in the Kerwan System, therefore one side of the planet never has any sunlight, therefore it is called the Dark Side of the planet"

"Oh I see, dose anybody actually live there?"

"Well, the dark side or not it is still Metropolis. But no, not many people live there, it is mainly polluted by factories and is unsafe for organic life forms without a 02 Mask. It is a great place for people who do not want to be found"

"Like Nefarious"

"There is no law there either"

"Mmmm, we better head back to our ship and warn the others"

OOO

"What do you mean you left the coffee machine on in my office!" shouted Qwark to a man. Qwark and Sasha were in the main foyer of the Q-Force HQ. While the Q-Force had gone onboard the _Starship Phoenix_, Qwark had left a group of janitors to look after the building. The man who Qwark was shouting at was one of the janitors.

"I'm very sorry Captain"

"Well that's just great! Now I can't have my well earned Coffee!"

"Um, you can always just, go to the cafeteria… to get one?"

"Oooooo, good point. I think I should go to my office first though"

"I'll be in the conference room" said Sasha as Qwark was heading to his office. Qwark got to the end of the hallway and reached a door with a gold plaque on it reading 'Captain Qwark'. He opened the door and entered the office, it was a big mess but Qwark put all his attention on the broken Coffee machine on his desk.

"Oh brother, this is defiantly busted, where's Al when you need him? He's on the Metropolis tour of course"

Suddenly Sasha appeared on the computer screen.

"Qwark are you there?" said Sasha.

"Yeah I'm here"

"Quick, come to the conference room, we are receiving a transmission from Ratchet on Koros"

"Ok, I'm on my way"

Qwark ran out of his office, down the hallway, and into the conference room where Sasha was waiting underneath a large transmission screen. "We have just received this recorded message from Ratchet on Koros"

The recording appeared on the screen. "Hi Sasha. Me and Clank have arrived on planet Koros and have made our way to Nefarious' BFG. We noticed a shuttle leaving the base when we got there and we found out that Nefarious was on it and it is heading for Metropolis. It is heading to an old ship yard on the dark side of the planet. We are back at our ship now and are about to head back to base. Once you get this message, please transmit your co-ordinates to my ship. Over and out"

The transmission ended. "So, Nefarious is coming here once again" said Qwark.

"It seems so" said Sasha.

OOO

Ratchet and Clank were in orbit of planet Koros waiting for Sasha's co-ordinates. "Ratchet" said Clank, "We have just received the co-ordinates of Sasha's location"

"And?" said Ratchet.

"She and Qwark are at the Q-Force HQ on Metropolis"

"Oh no, they're in danger"

"So we are going to Metropolis then?"

"Yes, set Hyperspace co-ordinates for Planet Kerwan"

"Engaging the Hyperdrive now"

OOO

"Wait a minute" said Sasha.

"What?" said Qwark.

"The scanner shows a large transport vessel leaving the dark side of the planet"

"Where did it come from?"

"I don't know. But my guess is that it came from that old ship yard Ratchet told us about"

"Do you know where it is going?"

"No, all I know it could be going to planets Zeldrin, Batalia, Gaspar, Daxx, Mylon, Oltanis and Aridia, due to these co-ordinates I just intercepted"

"Don't worry about it. If I know Dr. Nefarious, and I do very well, he will be back"

"So what now?"

"Well, it would be too dangerous to check out each of those seven planets"

"But we would know where he would be on those planets; Ratchet's been to them all before"

"Hhmm, ok here's the plan. Send one fighter to each of these locations: the Zeldrin Starport, Fort Krontos on Batalia, The abandoned Blarg Depot on Gaspar, The Secret Facility on Daxx, the Command Centre on Mylon, the Bomb Factory on Hoven and Outpost X12 on Aridia"

"Ok, I'll broadcast that order now" Sasha turned around and started typing on the nearest console. "There"

"Good work Sasha, they are to report anything they find back to us"

The wall of the Q-Force HQ slid open just beneath the first floor. Seven green Q-Force fighters poured out of the hanger, then weaved through the traffic and through the atmosphere.

OOO

"Incoming fighters!"

"Where?" said Clank.

"Over there" said Ratchet pointing at seven green fighters coming out from Kerwan's atmosphere. "Get ready for combat Clank"

"Wait!"

"What is it Clank?"

"Do not attack Ratchet; they are Q-Force fighters"

"Oh, where are they going?"

"I do not know"

The fighters rocketed past. The fighters were just big enough to hold a Hyperdrive, so the fighters shot into hyperspace.

"We'll ask Sasha when we land" said Ratchet.

Ratchets ship continues it's decent into Metropolis through the heavy traffic.

"There appears to be quite a lot of traffic today" said Clank.

"Yeah in know"

"The Q-Force HQ is straight ahead, Ratchet" said Clank.

Ratchet's ship approached the HQ slowly. Sasha or Qwark must have noticed them coming because the wall was opening up to reveal a hanger. The ship flew into the building and landed smoothly.

"We've finally made it to Metropolis. Long time no sees" said Ratchet.

A large door opened at the other end of the hanger and Sasha appeared on the other side. "Ratchet!" she shouted, embracing Ratchet as they reached each other.

"Elo Sasha" said Ratchet.

"You made it back!"

"Yeah. We passed seven green Q-Force fighters on the way in; do you know where they were going?"

"Oh yeah. Not long after you sent us that transmission, Nefarious left the planet. So we sent one fighter to each of the planets; Zeldrin, Batalia, Gaspar, Mylon, Oltanis, Aridia and Daxx…"

OOO

A small green Q-Force fighter dropped out of hyperspace in the Obani System, shining below was planet Daxx. The fighter cruised through the clear atmosphere until it came to a clear blue ocean and it levelled out. It zoomed across the ocean just skimming the water until a small group of islands came into view in the distance. As the ship came up to the islands it touched down on a small pier that was jetting out of one of the smaller islands. A small man with green tights on and a big Captain Qwark logo on his front climbed out of this ship, the wood groaned and creaked as he landed on the pier. At the end of the pier was a very small island, atop of it the man stood gazing, at the enormous building on the big island across a small stretch of water.

"This is it" the man said to himself, his eyes fixed on the building, "This is Nefarious' Research Facility" he gulped, "where the Bioblitterator was constructed"

Three 'Hypershot' targets floated in the air between him and a small metal pier was jetting out of bottom of the island with the facility on it.

"It's a good thing I brought a 'Hypershot' with me" he said as he went back to his ship and returned equipped with a 'Hypershot' gadget. He jumped forward and a burst of green energy came out of the 'Hypershot' like a rope and attached itself to the 'Hypershot' target. The man swung across all three targets and landed safely on the metal pier. The man stood on a small platform floating silently above the water to the right of the pier. It rose slowly up to a long balcony that stretched all of the way around the edge of the facility; at the end was the entrance to the building. He stepped of the lift.

OOO

"So let me get this straight" said Ratchet with a concerned tone, "Your scanners picked up a large transport vessel leaving the dark side of the planet?"

"That's right" said Sasha.

"How exactly do we know for sure that Nefarious was on it?"

"We don't"

"Well Ratchet" said Qwark, "Why a transport that big would be leaving there?"

"How big exactly?"

"Well it wasn't a freighter; it was a transport vessel a bit bigger than the _Phoenix_, so Nefarious must of have been on it"

"Ok" said Ratchet, "Maybe he was on it, but how do you know were it was heading?"

"We don't" said Sasha again.

"How did I know you were going to say that?"

"As I said we don't know exactly but we think we know were he might have gone"

"How?"

"Well if I know the galaxy, I'm a captain so I do, the ships co-ordinates shows it could of been the planets Zeldrin, Batalia, Gaspar, Mylon, Oltanis, Aridia and Daxx"

"How did you manage that Sasha?" asked Clank.

"It was hard Clank, I can tell you that!"

"Yeah well done Sasha!" said Ratchet sarcastically.

"Anyway" continued Sasha, "We've got a hunch that Nefarious is on Daxx"

"Yes" said Clank, "Daxx would be my guess too"

"So I sent one of our best men to Daxx" said Qwark.

"I wonder if he has found anything?" said Clank.

OOO

"I wonder were all the security robots are?" the Q-Force man said to himself a he walked slowly along the balcony around the Research Facility. "According to Sergeant Ratchet, this place was full of security robots when he came on a mission here" The man quickly halted just in time to see a big gap in the balcony. On the other side of the gap was the last bit of balcony that came out from the main entrance. Floating in the middle of the gap there was another 'Hypershot' target. "Oh look, more fun" the man said as he got out his 'Hypershot' gadget. But just before he was about to shoot he noticed something different about this target. Then he remembered seeing one of these during his training in Helga's Fitness Course on Metropolis. "Ah, I remember now. This is not a 'Hypershot' target; it's a 'Swingshot' target! Yes, the 'Hypershot' targets are green balls with a green energy field around them, a 'Swingshot' target is two yellow balls with a yellow bar between them, and that is what this target is"

A 'Swingshot' was an early version of the 'Hypershot' but instead of firing a burst of green energy, it fired a normal rope with a hook on the end. "The problem is" said the man, "I don't have a 'Swingshot'!" He looked around trying to see whether there was another way over, but there wasn't. Then he noticed that door across the gap was still open and one of its frames was loose. "Ah" he said, "This will do nicely". He aimed his 'Hypershot' at the bottom of the frame. Green energy erupted from the 'Hypershot' and whacked the bottom of the door frame. Nothing happened. He fired again and this time the right hand side frame moaned, toppled over and slammed hard onto the balcony, making a perfect bridge over the gap. "Piece of cake" said the man as he walked over the door frame and into the building.

OOO

Dr. Nefarious and Lawrence walked along a slippery walkway leading to a small platform where a scientist was standing. It was snowing.

"Is it completed?" asked Dr. Nefarious.

"To your specific expectations, sir" the scientist replied.

"Good, look Lawrence, it's finished! Oooo, I'm so excited!"

"We all are sir"

"Yes yes yes! Begin the loading onto this large transport I brought"

OOO

The Q-Force man entered the main computer room, again like the rest of the building, it was empty. The man pulled out a data disk from his pocket and powered up the console, a password screen appeared. "Right, I can use this data disk to create a new account to log me in with" said the man as he inserted the data disk into the disk slot.

"Please tell us your details so we can create your personal account" said an automated voice from the console. "Name?"

"Sam Thrash"

"Age?"

"27"

"Association code?"

"Q-Force 8731"

"Q-Force 8731 is invalid"

"Nefarious Research Facility 8731" Sam said after thinking what he could use.

"8731 is invalid"

"Nefarious Research Facility 9762" he guessed.

"Access code?"

"458924421135?"

"Access code 458924421135 is invalid"

'Think' Sam thought "174938209471?"

"Do you own a ship?"

"Yes"

"What is its ID?"

"B589H7E4"

"Your account details will be sent to ship ID 'B589H7E4' for further use. What is your desired password?"

"Qwarktastic"

"Qwarktastic is already in use"

"Sam123"

"Sam 123 is already in use"

"Oltanis"

"Password set as 'Oltanis' please use this password to log into the Nefarious network, thank you"

The voice faded and the password screen appeared. With a sigh of relief Sam typed in 'Oltanis' and pressed 'Ok'. Sam opened the search engine and searched the most recent events. "Hoven?" said Sam as he glared at the search results. "What would Nefarious want on Hoven? Unless, Oh no" Sam was speechless, "Metropolis is in grave danger. Nefarious just won't give up will he? Not until he gets his revenge on Metropolis" Sam saved this info and clicked 'send to'; he typed in B589H7E4 and clicked 'send'. "'Nefarious' Plans for Metropolis' has been successfully sent to ship ID 'B589H7E4'" said the automated voice again. Sam powered off the console removed his data disk and ran back through the building to his ship.

OOO

"So" said Ratchet "What do think Nefarious is planning?"

"Well if I know Nefarious, and I do very well" answered Qwark, "He is once again looking for revenge on Metropolis"

"And how is he going to do it this time?"

"I think we just found out" said Sasha from the console under the large transmission on the other side of the conference room "We are just receiving a transmission from of the man I sent to Daxx"

"So it was Daxx" said Clank.

"Let's find out" said Sasha.

The recording appeared on the screen. "I made it safely to Daxx and have infiltrated the Research facility" said Sam, "I found that there were no security robots and the facility was empty. I made it to the main computer room where Sergeant Ratchet found the information for the Bioblitterator and found some very bad news. Dr. Nefarious is at the old Blarg Bomb Factory on Planet Hoven, he is planning to re-open the Factory and create a bomb big enough to blow Metropolis and Kerwan to rubble" The transmission ended.

"Of course, he must be using the old Blarg Technology that Chairman Drek used to try and blow up Veldin, but me and Ratchet destroyed its transport before it could leave the planet" said Clank.

"This is very bad" said Sasha.

"The transport he took from Metropolis must of have been to carry the bomb" said Ratchet.

"We must stop Nefarious" said Qwark.

"Me and Clank will go to Hoven and try and stop the ship carrying the bomb from leaving the planet"

"Like before" said Sasha.

"Yeah"

"I'll come with you" said Qwark

"Oh great" Ratchet muttered to himself.

"My private fighter is still on the _Phoenix_ so I'll take an Airbus back the spaceport and get it. I'll meet you there in a bit"

And with that he walked out of the conference room and headed towards the main entrance. Ratchet and Clank also walked out and headed towards the hanger.

OOO

An hour later Ratchet's ship dropped out of hyperspace in the Blargian System, above the big planet of Hoven. "Remember being here Clank?" said Ratchet as they drifted towards the snowy white planet. Ice and snow covers most of Hoven and it has only one small ocean. There are no buildings or life on the planet apart from the old hidden Blarg Bomb Factory, which had shut down after Drek was defeated. Ratchet's ship entered the atmosphere and the Bomb Factory came into view.

"Due to security, I do not think we will be able to land were we landed before, next to the factory" said Clank.

"So where do you think we should land then?"

"I suggest we take the ship around the back of the factory and land in the ice wastes"

"Good idea, they don't mine Rareatanium there anymore so I should be easy enough to land there"

The ship hurtled down an ice gorge towards the factory and took a sharp turn left and up over a ledge which was the back wall for the factory. Behind the wall was the ice wastes, this is where Rareatanium was once mined, but now the machinery was gone. The ship touched down on a flat area of snow. The console in the ship stared bleeping.

"We seem to receiving a transmission from Qwark" said Clank.

"Ok, put him on"

Clank pushed a button on the console and Qwark's face appeared on the screen.

"Ratchet, I've just dropped out of hyperspace and I'm just entering the atmosphere now"

"Right we've landed in the ice wastes to avoid detection by the factory's new security" said Ratchet.

"Qwarktastic Ratchet, I'll be there now"

OOO

Ratchet, Clank and Qwark walked through a small tunnel in the wall that led from the wastes to the Bomb Factory area. Weapons in hand, Ratchet with a 'Decimator' rocket launcher and Qwark with a 'N60 Storm' blaster, they stepped out of the other end of the tunnel.

"I don't see any guards" said Ratchet.

"You won't" said Qwark.

"What you mean?"

"The security robots will be on guard up there at the factory" said Qwark pointing at the Bomb Factory perched up on a very high ledge behind them. The tunnel they just went through went under this ledge.

"What about down here?" asked Clank.

"They would have put trained Anklebiters down here" answered Qwark just as a group of ten small furry creatures with sharp teeth appeared around a hut just in front of them, these were Anklebiters.

"Look out" shouted Ratchet.

Qwark quickly picked of all ten, one by one with his 'N60'.

"Good job!" commented Ratchet.

"We need to get up to the factory and take out that ship that is probably going to transport the bomb" said Clank pointing at a large transport ship that was floating alongside a long icy walkway. They pressed on through the snow in search of a way up to the factory, taking care of any Anklebiters along the way.

OOO

After half an hour of fighting their way through Anklebiters they managed to get the ledge that was on the other side of the gorge to the Bomb Factory.

"How are we going to get across?" asked Ratchet.

"Hmm" said Qwark.

"Well?"

"You see that tall transmission mast sticking out of the top of the factory?"

"Yes"

"Well hitting that mast at the bottom where it joins the building will cause it to topple towards us"

"That's a good idea, but there's one slight problem"

"What?" said Clank and Qwark together.

"It's to far away and so thin that I will probably miss it without an aiming device on my weapon, my 'Decimator' doesn't have one"

"Have you got a 'Flux' or 'Pulse Rifle'?"

"I've got a 'Pulse Rifle' in my ship"

"Go and get it then"

"But what about the Anklebiters?"

"Don't worry, they've been cleared out remember?"

"OK, I'll be back in a minute"

OOO

Ratchet was back in a few minutes, carrying the deadly 'Pulse Rifle'. The 'Pulse Rifle' was the upgraded version of the 'Flux Rifle'.

"Aim for bottom of the mast" said Qwark.

"OK" said Ratchet as he looked through the aimer. He zoomed in to the very bottom of the mast and pulled trigger…

A powerful beam of energy erupted from the muzzle of 'Pulse Rifle'. The beam shot across the gorge at an amazing speed and exploded on impact with the mast.

"Good shot Ratchet" said Clank.

Suddenly there was load screeching noise from across the gorge as the transmission mast began to topple.

"Quick!" said Qwark, "Back into the tunnel we just came up!"

They did so, and waited there until there was a load crashing sound, the roof shuddered. They stepped outside the tunnel to see the mast lying across the gorge like a bridge.

"That was lucky" said Clank.

"What?" said Ratchet and Qwark together.

"If the mast was a meter shorter it would have missed this ledge and would have fallen into the gorge"

"Yeah" said Ratchet, "That was lucky"

"Come on!" said Qwark, "Stop lollygagging and get to work!"

"But…"

"No but's, we'll use this pole to infiltrate the enemy base undetected. Once inside we'll snag the enemy's plans and exfiltrate the base completely undetected. Got that everyone?"

"Hang on…"

"Good, let's get to work"

"QWARK!"

"What now?"

"I just wanted to point out a few things. One, it's not an 'enemy base', it's a bomb factory. Two, what 'plans'? We're not here to 'snag the enemy's plans', we're here to destroy that ship over there that's carrying the bomb that will used to destroy Metropolis!"

"Oh. Well didn't you say that?"

Ratchet sighed and shook his head. "Come on; let's just get over this gorge"

OOO

Ten minutes later Ratchet, Clank and Qwark made it over the gorge and arrived at the factory main entrance. A big group of security robots were there to 'greet' them. They opened fire. Ratchet, Clank and Qwark jumped out of the way of the small yellow balls that had just exploded out of their guns. Qwark quickly cleared the group. They worked their way through the main foyer and out the other side. There to their left was the long walkway, the transportation ship was floating silently, its engines were off, only the repulsorlifts were on so the craft made no noise.

"Come on" said Qwark, "We need to stop that ship from leaving!"

"And how exactly" said Ratchet, "Are we going to do that? I don't see a turret this time" said Ratchet.

"Oh"

"We could get aboard the ship and put 'Thereon Charges' all around it? Look, the boarding ramp is still down"

"But we might be caught" said Ratchet.

"I'm sure we won't" said Qwark.

"How do you know?"

"I dunno"

"I still think we should go along with my plan" said Clank.

Everyone was now arguing so they didn't notice the engines of the transportation ship roar to life and the boarding ramp retract.

"Come on people" said Ratchet completely unaware what was happening.

"We need to think of a plan before the ship leaves!" said Qwark putting his hand behind him to point at the ship. It was only when he turned around he noticed that he was pointing at thin air.

"NO!" shouted Ratchet as he shot the leaving ship as many times as he could with his 'Pulse Rifle', but was no use, the ship disappeared through the clouds. "It's too late"

"No it isn't Ratchet"

"Yes is Qwark, the ship is gone and is heading for Metropollis! The whole of the planet will be destroyed because we couldn't stop it!" he dropped to the floor and put his head in his large hands. "What will Sasha think of me now? She probably won't survive anyway"

"But-" Qwark cut in.

"I know!" shouted Ratchet in relief, "We could evacuate the capital!"

"-that's a good idea Ratchet, but what I was trying to say is that our ships are small fighters and Nefarious' ship is a huge transportation vessel"

"And?" Ratchet said as confusion swept his face and mind.

"And if I'm right, the bigger and heavier the ship, the slower it will travel through Hyperspace"

"A fighter like our one has a warp speed of 0.7" said Clank, "A transport craft the size of Nefarious' would have a warp speed of 0.4"

"So what has this all got to do with stopping Nefarious?" asked Ratchet still confused.

"Everything!" said Qwark.

"What Qwark means is that if we leave the planet in the next few minutes, then we should be able to reach Kerwan before Nefarious" explained Clank.

"And then we can try and stop Nefarious when he arrives" suggested Ratchet.

"Exactly"

"So do you think we should still evacuate the planet?"

"Yes" said Qwark, "Even if we do blow up Nefarious' ship, he still may have a change to drop the bomb"

"Well that is his main objective"

"C'mon then team, we have a mad robotic Scientist to stop!"

OOO

Skidd McMarxx walked into the conference room of the Q-Force HQ on Metropolis. He and Helga had returned from their city tour and Helga was now resting in her quarters. Sasha and Al were already waiting for him.

"You're late Skidd!" said Sasha.

"Sorry man, but I like stopped at the cafeteria on the way here and the queue for the cakes was like wicked slow and I didn't realise the time and stuff" said Skidd as he took a seat next to Al.

"Ok…."

"Sorry dude"

"Anyway, we've just received a transmission from Ratchet" Sasha looked down at the floor and sighed, "Ratchet and Qwark failed to stop the ship carrying the bomb. It is now on its way here to Metropolis!"

"No way man!" exclaimed Skidd.

"Yes, but Clank worked out that their ships can travel faster through Hyperspace than Nefarious' ship"

"Yes" commented Al, "Their ships have a warp speed of exactly 0.7, wile I say with my calculations that Nefarious' Bomb Transportation ship has a warp speed of 0.4"

"So Ratchet and Qwark will arrive here in the Kerwan System before Nefarious, in fact, he's on his way now"

"Great stuff" said Skidd.

"I think that we should gather a fleet of warships and 'meet' Nefarious when he drops out of Hyperspace"

"Good idea man"

"Qwark also said that we should evacuate the planet" said Sasha sadly.

"What?" shouted Skidd.

"Of course!" said Al, "Nefarious could drop the bomb if he manages to get into orbit"

"Exactly, remember that Nefarious can only drop the bomb in orbit because the gravitational pull will drag the bomb down to the planet" explained Sasha.

"Drop it without being in orbit will cause it to float away"

"Ok, here's what were going to do. Al, search the Metropolis holonet for battle fleet spaceports and contact them and tell them our situation. Tell them I'll meet them in orbit with the _Phoenix_"

"I'm on it!" said Al as he got up from his chair and rushed out of the conference room heading for the communications and holonet room.

"Skidd, go to the communications and holonet room with Al and contact the 'Metropolitan Republic Central', tell them the situation and tell them to send an evacuation code all around Metropolis" Skidd just stared at her as if waiting for more, "Go quickly!"

Skidd jumped up quickly, "Um, ok dude, um, where's the room again?"

"Down the corridor on the right!" Sasha shouted, "I'm going to the _Phoenix_"

"Gotcha man" said Skidd as he left the room.

Sasha flipped on her wrist communicator and spoke into it, "I need an Airbus quickly"

OOO

Sasha's Airbus entered the main hanger of the _Starship Pheonix_, she got out and stepped onto the gleaming polished floor of the hanger. She felt as if she could just slide to the bridge as the floor was ice. The engines of the Airbus roared as it made its way out of the hanger. The doors hissed shut behind it. Sasha realised that she was wasting her time thinking about how she missed the _Pheonix_, so she snapped to it and headed for the bridge.

OOO

Soon the _Phoenix_ was gaining altitude and heading towards the atmosphere of Planet Kerwan. As the clouds disappeared and starry space was revealed, Sasha had a shock. There, through the viewing screen Sasha could see a very large group of Starships. There seemed to be 4 fleets, judging by the design of each set of ships, and there were 6 Starhips to a fleet. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Al managed to gather 24 Starships!" She switched on the commlink and contacted Al. "Good work Al, I'm impressed!"

"Thank you" said Al on his wrist communicator. "We are just coming from the planet in a shuttle now"

"Ok, I'll be waiting with the fleet"

The _Phoenix_ carried on as it got nearer to the fleet. When the _Phoenix_ reached the fleet it pulled up next a large bluish Starship and faced the way all the other ships were facing, the point where Nefarious, Qwark and Ratchet is most likely to drop out of Hyperspace. The direction of Planet Hoven. A voice cracked over the commlink, "Welcome Commander Sasha of the _Starship Pheonix_" the voice said, "I am Commander Nel Mesh of the _Battleship Vencor Prime_"

'The _Battleship Vencor Prime_ must be this blueish ship I'm next to' Sasha thought, "Many thanks for the greeting Commander Nel Mesh" she spoke out.

"I have been told by the Al of Al's Roboshack to greet you when you arrive, and of course, you are leading this attack. I personally feel that we all have the right to protect 'our' planet" said Nel.

"Very true" said Sasha. Just then she noticed a small green dot coming through the planet's atmosphere. The dot grew larger, and then morphed into the shape of a Q-Force shuttle as it got nearer to the _Pheonix_. The comlink cracked again and Al voice came through, "We are coming up to the _Phoenix_ now Sasha, prepare to open the door to the main hanger"

"Will do" said Sasha as she pushed the button labelled 'Main Hanger Door'. Sasha heard the sound of the shuttle landing.

"We're in" Al said and Sasha pushed the button again.

Al, Skidd, Helga and Skrunch came onto the bridge a minute later and took their seats.

"How did the evacuation task go Skidd?" asked Sasha.

"Oh that, well, um, I kinda like forgot" answered Skidd, then he flinched before Sasha even started to shout.

"It's ok Sasha!" cut in Al, "Skidd forgot what he had to do so I contacted the 'Metropolitan Republic Central for him"

"Oh" said Sasha sounding surprised, "Well done again Al!" she said glaring at Skidd, he just pulled a cheesy smile and stuck his thumbs up at her. "Right, we are still waiting for Ratchet and Qwark"

Just then, as by accident, a small red and a small green just appeared from Hyperspace in front of the fleet of ships.

Then it sprung to Sasha, "DON'T FIRE!" she bellowed into the commlink, Sasha's voice could now be heard ringing across every ship in her fleet, "Their frendlies"

OOO

Ratchet sat there frozen stiff. An army of 24 starships were in front of them. Ratchet cursed and shouted down the commlink to Qwark, "I can't believe it! Nefarious must have somehow got here before we did" he looked at Clank.

"I do not see the ship carrying the bomb" said Clank.

"Me neither" said Qwark from is fighter eventually.

"But still" said Ratchet, "If those ships fire on us we'll be space dust in seconds!" Suddenly the ship jerked and Clank clanked against the side of the ship, "What the.."

"It's a tractor beam!" shouted Qwark, "It's grabbed our fighters and its pulling us towards that ship in the middle of the fleet!"

"Wait there" Ratchet said curiously looking at the ship that was dragging them in, "I know that paintwork!" he said looking at the glossy white finish on the body of the ship, and the two curved wings sticking out near the rear, "Qwark you idiot!" he shouted, "That's the _Phoenix_!"

"And it is!" Qwark shouted in relief.

"Sasha must have formed a fleet to attack Nefarious when he enters the system" said Clank.

"Yes indeed!"

The two helpless fighters now filled with joy and relief, slowly floated towards the _Starship Phoenix's_ underside hanger.

OOO

Ratchet, Clank and Qwark walked through the sliding doors and stepped onto the bridge of the _Starship Phoenix_.

"We are all sorry about the bad luck on Hoven" said Sasha.

"It's good to see you too" said Ratchet.

"Don't worry, I'm sure dit wasn't your fault" said Helga.

"Thanks, but we need to concentrate on what's happening now"

"Well as you know" said Sasha as Ratchet, Clank and Qwark took their seats, "Nefarious should be dropping out of Hyperspace soon"

"25 seconds to be exact" said Clank and Al together. They looked at each other.

"25 seconds then" and she turned to her commlink, "This is it people, all ships stand by, Nefarious coming out of Hyperspace in 16 seconds, remember to stop Nefarious' ship getting into the gravitational pull of the planet."

"All crew stand by" shouted Qwark all around the bridge.

"10, 9, 8, 7-"

"This is it Clank" said Ratchet.

"-4, 3, 2, 1"

Just as Clank and Al had predicted, a large transport dropped out of Hyperspace carrying the Planetbuster bomb.

OOO

Dr. Nefarious sat on the bridge of his Planetbuster transport staring out of the viewing screen at the armada of ships.

"They seem to have us trapped, sir" said Lawrence.

"No Lawrence, all we have to do is get into orbit of the planet!"

"If you say so sir"

Nefarious and shouted all around the bridge, "Concentrate all efforts on getting into orbit with Kerwan. We need to drop the bomb before those ships can destroy us! Fire the secondary thrusters!"

The armada of ships opened fire.

OOO

Across all of the laser fire Ratchet could see the large transport offering no resistance. The ship pivoted left and there was a burst of speed.

"That ship is firing its secondary thrusters!" shouted Ratchet, "It's trying to find a way around us! Plus we can't hit it because it's going too fast!"

After a few minutes Nefarious' ship had managed to get around the fleet only getting hit a few times. But a few times was not enough to knock it out.

Sasha turned to her commlink and shouted to the 'Metropolitan Republic Central', "Nefarious has managed to trick us and is nearly into orbit. You need to get everyone of the planet now!"

"We need more time!" shouted a Metropolitan Officer from the commlink, "Only 42 of the planet has been evacuated!"

Sasha knew that the other 58 were doomed.

"Look!" shouted Ratchet pointing at Nefarious' ship which had now got into orbit.

"Retreat!" shouted Sasha down the commlink to the other ships, "There's nothing more we can do! Move away from the planet!"

OOO

Dr. Nefarious watched as the armada began to pull away from the planet he was now in orbit of. "This is it" he said, "I failed the first time. I failed the second time. Bit I will not fail the third time! At last, after all these failures, Metropolis will finally pay!" he looked at Lawrence, "Lawrence! Activate the bomb controls!"

"Sorry, did you say something sir?" said Lawrence looking up.

"LAWRENCE! ACTIVATE THE BOMB CONTOLS NOW!"

"Ok sir" Lawrence pushed a small button and a control panel flipped up in front of Nefarious.

"Finally" he said as pushed the big red shiny button in the middle of the panel, "Move the ship to a safe distance and let's get the heck out of here!"

OOO

From as safe distance, the whole of the Q-Force watched in horror as the Planetbuster bomb dropped down towards the planet. The whole bridge gasped and looked away as bomb turned the capital planet of the galaxy into a flaming fireball.

"I can't believe we couldn't stop Nefarious from doing such a terrible thing" sobbed Sasha.

Ratchet got up from his chair and comforted her, "Don't worry Sasha" soothed Ratchet, "Nefarious will pay badly for what he has done" and he raised his voice, "Right team?"

"Right!" shouted the bridge all at once.

"C'mon team" said Qwark, "Let's make him pay right now!"

"Yeah!" erupted the bridge again.

"All ships resume attack on Nefarious' ship" he bellowed into the commlink, "That ship can't use its secondary thrusters, but it's got a chance of escaping" he looked at the ship through the viewing screen and turned back to his commlink, "Let's not give him that chance"

"I'm going to my fighter" said Ratchet, and he kissed Sasha goodbye, "Clank, stay here and help Sasha"

"I'm coming too" said Qwark, "In fact-" he turned to his commlink, "-all pilots to their fighters, we need everything we got to stop Nefarious" he turned off the commlink and looked at Ratchet, "Let's go"

OOO

Fighters poured out of all the ships in the fleet and headed towards Nefarious' ship. It wasn't going very fast now because it had used its secondary thrusters up. A ball of smoke in the shape of dead Kerwan floated miserably underneath.

OOO

"Hurry up! We need to get into to Hyperspace before those capital ships and incoming fighters destroy us!"

"It will take a few minutes for the computer to locate the correct co-ordinates" said Lawrence.

"Well hurry up then" shouted Nefarious.

OOO

Ratchet piloted his ship towards Nefarious' transport, he watched as the fleet opened fire. Ratchet opened fire too and hit the transport several times, but the shields seemed to be very strong. Suddenly the transport decided to open fire as well and caught some bluish fighters by surprise and they erupted into flames. Ratchet dodged a few shots as saw some more fighters explode in the corner of his eye. He looked around but saw no sign of Qwark. A laser shot rocked past him and hit a fighter's left wing behind him, the fighter span out of control and smashed into the side of Nefarious' ship leavening a large dent in it. Ratchet switched on his commlink and bellowed to the remaining fighters and the capital ships, "The shields of the transport are down! Increase firepower!" Behind him a capital ship started to make some large grazes on Nefarious' ship. "We're gonna win" thought Ratchet. Suddenly two more fighters detonated and he saw Qwark's fighter swivel around the explosions, Qwark engaged his secondary thrusters and rocketed past Ratchet.

OOO

"We will be able to enter hyperspace in 20 seconds" said Lawrence.

"Hurry up!" shouted Nefarious, "Our shields are down!"

"Ok sir"

"Good!" Nefarious turned back to watching the battle raging on outside, and then he noticed something. A lone green fighter had broken off from the rest of the group and was headed out to the right. "Lawrence, get rid of that fighter over there, it's trying to escape the battle unscratched"

"As you wish sir" said Lawrence.

Then the green fighter turned around and started heading towards them. Several shots hurtled towards the green fighter, but it just evaded every time. As Nefarious began to get worried the transmission screen flickered on and Captain Qwark's head appeared on the screen.

Nefarious jumped, "QWARK!"

"Hello Nefarious" Qwark said, "I thought I would give a little goodbye present!"

"What do you mean!" shouted Nefarious, but the screen faded. He looked up just in time to see the green fighter heading straight for the viewing screen on the bridge.

Then Lawrence's voice could be heard, "Hyperspace jump in 10, 9, 8,-"

The green fighter was getting closer and Nefarious could just make out Qwark's figure in the cockpit.

"-6, 5-"

The fighter pulled upwards as two concussion missiles hurdled towards Nefarious. He froze.

"-3, 2, 1"

"QWARK!"

The bridge disintegrated.

OOO

Ratchet saw the bridge of Nefarious' ship erupt into a ball of flaming gas and debris. A chain reaction detonated the rest of the ship before anyone could make it to the escape pods. Qwark's green fighter smashed through the flames of the exploded ship.

Qwark's voice exploded through the commlink, "Yeeeehaaaaa!"

Ratchet laughed and cheered as he watched the explosion disappear revealing bits of debris floating in space. He turned his ship around and headed, with a sigh of relief, back to the _Phoenix_.

OOO

Ratchet and Qwark stepped onto the bridge of the _Phoenix_ to a thunderous applause. Sasha ran up to Ratchet and jumped into his arms. Clank waddled up to Ratchet and he picked Clank up hugging Sasha and Clank together. The rest of the bridge applause wile Ratchet's and Sasha's lips met.

OOO

After the celebration, everyone sat in their chair on the bridge looking a Planet Kerwan, or what was left of it. The commlink crackled and a voice came through, "This is Nel Mesh. I want to give my gratitude to all of you for helping us stop Nefarious. And I want to give my deepest apologies to what's happened to Kerwan, we should have stopped Nefarious before the bombing. I am a dreadfully sorry" his voice faded.

"What now?" asked Ratchet.

"I don't know" said Sasha.

The commlink crackled again and another voice came through, "This is the 'Metropolitan Republic Central' calling. Do you copy?"

The whole bridge looked up in shock, and Sasha spoke into the commlink, "What? We are all dreadfully sorry about what has happened to your planet. You managed to escape I see"

"No Sasha, Kerwan is fine. Everyone has survived!"

"What? How can that be?" she said confused.

"We remembered the ancient 'Metropolis Defence System' just before the bomb was dropped. We activated the 35 ancient mass shield generators around the planet. The bomb blew up on impact with the mass shield and the planets atmosphere got covered with smoke from the impact"

With this news the bridge erupted once again with applause and Ratchet and Sasha once again kissed as they watched the clouds of smoke clearing, revealing the planet's city landscape. The planet had never looked so wonderful.


End file.
